


The Show Must Go On

by orphan_account



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Circus, Gen, Pokemon as Performers, Possibly OOC, Requested by anon, Ultra Beasts, could be au, did my best, kind of, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 05:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16509989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "As far as my parents knew, there had never been a traveling circus on our island before. It just wasn’t part of our culture to do that kind of thing, so when the circus blew in out of nowhere, it was kind of like a novelty. Everyone in town went to check it out, just to see what it was like. I had seen a few cartoon circuses on the TV, maybe, but I really wanted to go and see it in person. I mean, I had no idea if I would ever have another chance."





	The Show Must Go On

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by anonymous

“Could I get you anything else? Some cookies, maybe?”

Anabel sat in a small, unassuming chair next to a small, unassuming table in a very modest house somewhere in Alola. Using the spoon provided, she shoveled a heap of sugar into her tea and slowly stirred it in. 

“No, thank you. This tea is more than enough.” She took a polite sip before folding her hands neatly in her lap. “If you’re ready, I think we can start the interview.”

The woman across from her shifted slightly in her seat. Her gaze switched intermittently between Anabel and the digital recorder resting on the table between them.

Anabel reached across the table, her hand hovering over the recorder. “If this bothers you, I can put it away.”

“No,” the woman said, “no, it’s alright. Just a little nervous, I guess.”

After a slight hesitation, Anabel pressed the ‘Record’ button. “Why don’t we talk like we’re having a friendly conversation? Pretend the recorder isn’t even there.”

“No, really, it’s fine,” the woman insisted. Taking a deep breath, she trained her eyes directly on Anabel. “I’ll just tell you the whole story as I remember it. That’s what you’re after, right?”

Anabel nodded.

“Then here goes.” Another deep breath, followed by a pregnant pause. “It happened when I was still a child. The circus had just come to town, and my parents took me to see it.”

* * *

As far as my parents knew, there had never been a traveling circus on our island before. It just wasn’t part of our culture to do that kind of thing, so when the circus blew in out of nowhere, it was kind of like a novelty. Everyone in town went to check it out, just to see what it was like. I had seen a few cartoon circuses on the TV, maybe, but I really wanted to go and see it in person. I mean, I had no idea if I would ever have another chance.

I remember walking up to the tent on the day of the show. It was huge and striped with bright contrasting colors. Blue and orange? Something like that. I couldn’t believe a thing so massive could be set up overnight.

Once we were inside, a couple Pokemon ushered us to our seats. They were like bleachers, not very comfortable, but we had an amazing view of the big top, so I really couldn’t complain. Everyone was seated quickly. It obviously wasn’t the first show these folks had put on.

We didn’t have to wait long for it to start. Before any of the acts went on, the ringmaster came out to welcome us and introduce us to the cast. She was… incredibly unique. That’s how I’ll put it. I’ll never forget what she looked like. She had long hair, so long it reached her waist and completely covered one of her eyes. She wore an old-timey dress like something out of a film noir, really thick glasses, and a giant top hat. Every so often, she would take drags from a cigarette that she kept in a long, elegant cigarette holder. Weirdest of all, though, was the way she got around. I never saw her walk. Instead, she rode on top of the biggest Donphan I’ve ever seen. It carried her to the middle of the big top so she could give her welcoming speech, and then it took her off to the side to watch the acts as they came on.

There were so many performances that I only remember a few. A Mr. Mime came out and acted as both a clown and a contortionist. There was a Machamp that acted as a Pyroar tamer. Pansear, Panpour, Pansage, and their evolutions all did a trapeze act together. It was pretty basic stuff, but as a kid I was completely blown away.

After all of the main acts, the ringmaster announced that it was time for the grand finale. She rode her Donphan around the tent a few times to hype up the crowd as a giant cannon was rolled out onto the big top. She explained to us how it would happen: her Donphan would climb into the cannon, then she would use her cigarette to light the fuse and send Donphan flying out of the tent. The crowd around me was so excited.

But before the ringmaster could even climb off of her Donphan, there was an a small explosion that shook the tent. I couldn’t tell where it had come from, but the tent filled with smoke, and everyone started to panic. We thought we were under attack or something, but the smoke cleared just as quickly as it came, and when it did, there was this… this creature I had never seen before standing in the middle of the big top. It was almost humanoid. Its body and its limbs were long and lanky, and its head was shaped like a great big beach ball. The way it dressed, you might’ve mistaken it for a clown if you didn’t know better. The tent was completely silent. We all held our breaths and waited to see what this creature would do.

Then, to all of our surprises, it started to perform. I couldn’t keep track of all the things it was doing. It walked on the tightrope, spun plates, rode on a unicycle, and created fireworks from its head, sometimes all at the same time. It didn’t take long for the crowd to warm up to it. They all started to cheer for the creature and encourage it, which seemed to make it perform even more daringly. Before long, the actual circus performers had been completely forgotten as the creature blew everyone’s minds.

This made the actual circus performers pretty upset. Their thunder had been stolen.

They did what they could to fight it off. They banded together and attacked with move after move to knock it off its rhythm. The way the creature dodged, though, was actually pretty incredible. It weaved through the attacks seamlessly and continued its performance the entire time. The crowd was really impressed. They started cheering louder and louder, which made the creature perform even harder, and it all spiraled out of control so quickly.

The circus performers quit after a while, and they all looked really frustrated. Nothing they were doing was working. It started to look like they couldn’t do anything to stop the creature from performing. I kept watching them. Everyone else was distracted, but I was more interested in what the circus performers were doing. I needed to see if they could beat the creature, or if they were going to give up and let it rule their circus.

The owner, up until that point, had been quietly watching the creature and her performers without interfering. She had a bored, slightly irritated look on her face, like she wasn’t even a little bit surprised. In fact, even as the creature twirled around her and did all these amazing stunts, she didn’t seem affected at all. She was completely unimpressed. 

Then, she motioned for Panpour and Simipour to go over to her, and she whispered something to them. They nodded and jumped up onto their trapeze. Then she motioned for Mr. Mime and Machamp and whispered something to them as well.

I watched as the two monkeys swung up in the trapeze so they were flying above the creature, and in unison they blasted it with powerful water attacks. The creature didn’t see it coming at all, and it got completely soaked. For the first time, it stopped its performance. The crowd around me faltered in its cheering. I’m not sure if it was weakened or just surprised, but whatever it was, it gave Mr. Mime enough time to run in, grab it, and trap it inside an invisible box. It struggled to escape. Several explosions were contained inside the invisible box, which Machamp grabbed and shoved inside of the cannon that was still on the big top.

The crowd was silent again as the ringmaster hopped down from her Donphan and held her cigarette to the fuse of the cannon. It ignited, and the flame slowly chewed away at the fuse until it came to the end. The cannon went off with an enormous BOOM! The creature was shot out of it, through the top of the tent, and we watched as it vanished into the sky with a twinkle.

A beat passed, and then the crowd was roaring once again. The ringmaster and her performers all took a bow as we stood and cheered, calling for an encore. Once the fuse in the cannon was replaced, the ringmaster gave her Donphan a kiss on the cheek, and it climbed into the cannon as well. It was blasted far, far away, and then the ringmaster announced that the circus was over. We all left the tent, and I can’t speak for anyone else, but I knew from that very moment that something inside of me had changed.

* * *

The woman took a moment to sip her own cup of tea. With furrowed brows, she asked a still-silent Anabel, “Was that good?”

Anabel quickly nodded. “Yes, that was perfect, thank you.”

“Did you get everything you needed?”

“For the most part. I just have one last question to ask you.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Do you remember if the ringmaster ever mentioned her name?”

The woman sat and thought about it for several long seconds. Finally, she said, “I think she said it was Lilly. I could be wrong, though.”

Anabel reached across the table to press the ‘End’ button on the digital recorder. She then grabbed it and slipped it into her jacket pocket. “That’s alright. You’ve given us more than enough to start our investigation.”

As she stood, so did the woman. “I was helpful, then?”

Anabel flashed her a small smile. “Extremely so. Thank you for your time.”

They said their goodbyes, and Anabel made her way out of the building. Outside, a man in a beige trench coat was waiting, leaning against the wall by the door.

“So,” he said, “what do you think? Did she really have an encounter with UB Burst?”

Anabel continued to walk down the path from the house to the street, prompting the man to follow her. “I believe she did. Her description matches what we’ve heard from other witnesses. That means our timeline is much longer than we first thought, but, more importantly, it means that we have someone we need to track down immediately.”

The man caught up with her as they walked, raising his eyebrow at her. “Why so urgent? Who is it?”

Anabel glanced at him, a slight grimace on her face. “Her name is Lilly, and if my suspicions are correct, I feel like she might be a faller.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: [queenredwrites](https://queenredwrites.tumblr.com/)


End file.
